Use of the merged dual-frequency radar altimeter backscatter data over China land surface

It is a special way to investigate continental surfaces using radar altimeter, besides scatterometers and Synthetic Aperture Radar among the active microwave remote sensing sensors for the altimeter works at the nadir point of satellite and at dual-frequency, which can measure the backscatters from different layers instantaneously. The aim of this paper is to merge multi-radar altimeter dual-frequency backscatter measurements over land surface to achieve better spatial and temporal resolution. The 0.5°×0.5° merged altimetry backscatter maps between 66° N to 66° S over land surface every 6 days are generated in Ku, C, and S band for the period from January 2002 to June 2009. Temporal profiles of backscatters are examined for main land types (desert, forest, savanna) to validate the dataset and to analyze radar response to land surface variability through 8 years.